Lessons Learned
by enter-a-world-entirely-our-own
Summary: In the midst of war, can people still learn to change? Can they learn to become who they have always been destined to be? Can they learn to love? Draco Malfoy doesn't think so. Hermione Granger begs to differ.


**Hello everyone! Well I just couldn't stay away from writing again! Now I came up with this idea a couple of months ago but school and a hectic schedule meant I couldn't even finish this chapter until now! I'm not sure how long this story will be and I don't know if updates will be nearly as regular as they were with Healed. I hope everyone likes this story so far! **

**Summary:** It's been two years since the Final Battle and all the Horcruxes except Nagini have been destroyed. Fred, Lupin, and Tonks never died. Lavender Brown, Colin and Dennis Creevy, and Seamus Finnegan are dead. The war is in a deadlock with no hint of stopping.

* * *

What had once been a lively street full of laughter and the new discovery of magic was now crumbled down to ruins. Nearly all the shops had been boarded up and if there did happen to be people there, they didn't stop to chat. Diagon Alley was not the beautiful place it had once been. Hermione hated going here; it reminded her that the war was still very much alive. At least at Headquarters, she could pretend it was fake for a moment. But staring up at Ollivanders with the glass windows smashed in and the sign hanging by one last chain made this nightmare all too real.

But sometimes a sacrifice had to be made. They needed more moonstone for their potion supplies and the Apothecary was one of the few shops still in business. Most likely because Death Eaters frequented it the most often. She looked down at her reflection in a puddle on the ground and cringed. Polyjuice Potion always made the insides of her stomach squirm. It wasn't natural for someone to look at a reflection and not see themselves. Her usually bushy, brown hair was now sleek and dirty blonde. Icy blue eyes stared out of her regularly warm brown ones. But once again, sacrifices had to be made. It wasn't safe for the best friend of Harry Potter to be wandering around the streets. Not in times like these.

She was just about to push open the door to the shop when a grunt emanated from the alley way. Hermione tore her wand from the inside of her robes and approached cautiously. Two years of war had morphed her into a soldier she hardly recognized. But it had also kept her alive.

"Lumos." The tip of her wand lit up and put the entire situation into a new perspective. Leaning against the ancient brick walls was a man so beat up she wasn't quite sure if he was alive. There were three long gashes down his chest that seeped blood onto his tattered and torn robes. His hair was caked in dried blood and dirt. But his face was the most horrific. Every surface was bruised harshly and one eye was swollen shut. The other was just barely slit open. Hermione felt a scream tear through her lungs but she clamped her mouth shut and forced it back down. It would hardly be beneficial to draw attention to herself. Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't seen something like this before. She shuffled closer to him, "Ex-excuse me?"

He spat blood out of his mouth and lifted his face to look her straight on. "Well isn't this just fucking brilliant." He muttered. "Please just continue on. I'm fine." He attempted to draw his mouth into a smirk, but cringed at the pain it caused and gave up. He then raised his arm and ran a beaten up hand through his hair revealing a shock of white. She knew of only person with hair that distinct.

Her stomach sunk, "Malfoy?"

"Shit." He mumbled before falling onto the ground. Forgetting everything she had ever been trained for, Hermione dropped her fighting stance and rushed to his side.

"What in Merlin's name happened to you?" She moved his head so that she could look into his cool grey irises. However the one eye that could still see was slowly rolling into the back of his head. She hit the side of his face, "No! C'mon Malfoy." He grunted and then slipped into unconsciousness. Panicking and not thinking clearly in any way, the Gryffindor lifted him nearly onto her back and reached for her wand that she had thrown onto the ground. With a crack they had both spun back into the center of Headquarters. "Help!" She cried out before her knees gave out under the weight of the passed out Slytherin. Moody came hobbling into the room.

"Bloody Hell Hermione, who is this?" He growled as he dropped to the floor to assess the passed out man.

"An…old friend." She lied through her teeth. "Please just let Madam Pomfrey see him. He's dying."

Moody's eye grazed over her expression, "You're lying." He murmured. "But I'm not going to let someone just die on the floor in front of me." He grasped Draco's hand and levitated him out the door. She followed him hastily and burst into the makeshift infirmary they had created at Grimmauld Place. The plump medi-witch was hunched over the bed of Dean Thomas, who had sustained injuries at their last battle.

"Poppy." Hermione squeaked out, tearing the witch from her healing reverie. "We have a new patient for you."

She caught sight of Draco being levitated through the door way and gasped. "Oh dear…well bring him here." Moody plopped him onto one of the beds and Poppy set her wand onto him. Hermione stood behind her, chewing on her bottom lip furiously.

After nearly twenty minutes of complex wand movements and mumbling, Madam Pomfrey stood from her patient and lifted the corner of her mouth. "He's stabilized…for now. I'm going to wait for a couple hours before continuing. He needs to rest."

"Hey 'Mione" Ron Weasley walked into the room while biting into an apple. "What's this of a new arrival? Mad-Eye was just telling me and Hannah about it." His eyes set onto the wizard sleeping on the bed in front of him and he dropped the apple to the ground. Draco's hair was now clean and shining out its white color for all to see.

"Now what was the name of the patient Hermione?" Madam Pomfrey walked in between the two friends, seemingly not able to feel the tension. "I have to put it down in the records."

"D-Draco Malfoy." She whispered. Madam Pomfrey squeaked in surprise. Ron gave a scathing glare at his friend before stalking out of the room.

"Ron wait!" Hermione ran after him and grabbed his arm, "I couldn't just leave him there to die!"

"And why the Hell not Hermione? It's Draco fucking Malfoy! He's the reason Dumbledore is dead! He helped Yaxley murder Seamus and I'm sure he was in on the Creevy's murders! He's made fun of you since you were eleven years old and he's been a right git since he was born! Why not let him die?" A few people poked their heads out of their doors at the sound of Ron's yells, but the ginger wizard was oblivious to the noise he was making.

"Maybe because he's a _human being_!" She spat, "Maybe I wanted to be the better person and I couldn't just watch someone die like you could. Maybe I still have a bloody heart Ronald! If you want him dead so badly, why don't you just go back in there and strangle him! If everyone else is like you in this prison, I'm sure they won't protest!" She turned from him and stomped up the stairs before slamming her door shut and locking it. Ron let out a sigh.

"Sweetheart…what was that about?" Hannah Abbott poked her head around the corner.

He felt the corner of his lip rise, "nothing…Hermione is just being…Hermione." He followed his girlfriend into her room and momentarily forgot about the pale man in the building.

* * *

He heard sounds before he opened his eyes. He was in a mildly uncomfortable cot and someone was bustling around the room. What the hell happened? With great effort, Draco Malfoy lifted his eyelids and looked around. Nothing was recognizable and his entire body ached. He felt a cough rumble up through his body and when it left him; he thought his throat may crumble. Madame Pomfrey turned her head to the source of the noise and smiled hesitantly.

"Oh good, you're up." He felt his eyebrows crease in confusion. What the fuck was going on? "Do you remember anything Mister Malfoy?" The medi-witch approached cautiously.

"Does it look like I remember anything?" He grunted, annoyed.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

Draco racked his brain. He was on the ground and endless pain was coursing through his veins. Voldemort was laughing in the background as Draco screamed in agony on the cold stone floor. He had apparated away in a panic and hazily remembered Diagon Alley and a blonde woman. That was it. "Nothing." He spat. "Where the hell am I?"

Poppy sighed, "You're at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix."

The Slytherin's silver eyes widened, "And how the fuck did I get here?" Madame Pomfrey opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by someone walking in the door.

"Hey Poppy have you got any more healing cream? Harry was trying a new defensive spell and it didn't go very well." Hermione was looking down at her cuticles, completely oblivious to the current situation. She looked up quickly and then did a double take. "Oh…I'll just…I'll just get some cream later-"

"Oh no Hermione! You're not getting off that easily." Poppy stood and dragged the reluctant Gryffindor over to a scowling Draco. "This, Mister Malfoy, is how you got here." Hermione bit her bottom lip and avoided the blonde's vicious glare.

"What is the meaning of this Granger?" He ground out. At first she avoided his gaze but then determination and a hint of anger swept over her face and she stared him dead on.

"The meaning of this is that I saved your life Malfoy, I could have just left you there to die. Merlin knows you were seconds from it." There was a slight flush in her cheeks that highlighted her blazing eyes.

"No," his jaw set, "I remember a blonde woman."

"It's called Polyjuice Potion," she rolled her eyes, "Surely your precious master has taught you about it?"

His silver irises flashed, "Shut the fuck up Mudblood." He felt a pang of regret deep within his abdomen but forced his face to remain emotionless.

Hermione scoffed, "You know that word barely even affects me any longer. It was a nice try Malfoy. When you decide to stop being an ungrateful bastard, let me know." She turned from him and stalked out of the room before slamming the door shut. As soon as the old, withered wooden door had separated them, the Gryffindor felt her chest ache and almost unconsciously ran her hand over the foul word forever etched into her skin. She felt tears spring to her eyes but forced them back, she would not cry over a word. She would not allow something to have such control over her.

"'Mione?" Harry tore her from her thoughts, "Are you okay?" He was holding his bloody arm, causing Hermione to realize that she had completely forgotten to get him his healing cream.

"Oh Harry! I'm so sorry; I'll go get the cream from Poppy right now." She turned back towards the door with dread seeping through her veins. Harry put his good arm around her shoulders.

"It's alright, I'll get it." He moved to open the door but Hermione pulled him back.

"He's awake." She mumbled.

"I was wondering when our _guest_ would wake up…it's been three days." He tried pushing past her but was once again blocked.

"Please don't Harry, he's being a huge twat right now."

"Cause he was always such an angel." The dark haired wizard slipped out of Hermione's grasp and burst into the room. There on the first cot was Draco Malfoy, looking infuriated.

"Potter." He spat.

"Malfoy." Harry answered calmly before walking right past the Slytherin and to the medicine cabinet. Draco sat and shot daggers through the back of Harry's head until he turned around with the healing cream in his hand. He was careful to not meet Draco's gaze and instead became particularly interested in rubbing the cream onto his arm. Hermione stood by the door biting on her lip in anxiety.

"Why the fuck am I here Potter?" He growled, "surely you would know what really happened."

Harry lifted his head slowly and looked on to Draco with pity, "Look at the witch standing in the doorway. That's why you're here Malfoy. Because someone had compassion. So for once just stop being a spoiled git and be thankful you're actually alive. Cause Merlin knows if any other person in the Order had found you, we wouldn't have made a second glance." Draco clenched his jaw in anger but produced no response, allowing Harry to scuffle out of the room sighing. Hermione looked back at Draco with her chocolate eyes, opening her mouth to say one last remark. She shut it quickly though and shook her head in defeat before following her friend out of the room.

* * *

"Right so what are we going to do about our new…guest?" Harry sat in the middle of the meeting table, casting anxious glances at every face.

"Get his bloody arse out of here!" Ron burst out. Hermione shot him a glare that could kill from across the table but said nothing.

"He's staying." Moody grunted.

"What?!" Ron, Dean, and Neville all screeched together. Hermione's head whipped up to meet Moody's scarred expression.

"We're going to figure out why he was so beat up when Hermione found him and then we're going to use him to our benefit. I figure if we get a good occlumens down to Headquarters, we could get a few worthwhile things out of him."

"That's not going to work." Harry was grasping the bridge of his nose. "I reckon Snape taught him before he died and now Voldemort has taught him everything he knows. No one is going to be getting into Draco Malfoy's head anytime soon."

Moody grunted, "I reckon you're right Potter…can't believe I didn't think of it myself. Well we could always get our hands on some Veritaserum. I believe Malfoy was one of the top Death Eaters. We could get some extremely useful information out of him."

"Maybe Theo should speak with him." Padma spoke up. "He's sleeping right now but I could go ask him."

"I doubt your useless boyfriend could be of any help." Ron snarled.

"Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley whacked her son on the back of his head while she set down some tea.

"What the hell is your problem with him? He's been nothing but nice to you!" Padma huffed and crossed her arms in her seat.

"He's a rotten git." Ron mumbled while Hannah's arms went around his middle, trying to offer comfort.

"Oh shut up Ron, you're just angry because Theo can outsmart you in every conversation the two of you have." Ginny mocked from her seat next to Harry. Hermione smirked at her friends' comment but still kept her lips sealed.

"You know Scallyfangs are known to brighten one's mind in conversation," Luna looked in Ron's general direction, "I could catch some for you and they would surely help." Dean roared with laughter and gave his girlfriend an appreciative kiss on the cheek. Though she didn't seem to realize what was so funny.

"Will all of you shut up?!" Moody barked from the head of the table. "I knew I should have asked senior members to sit on in this meeting." He whispered under his breath. "Malfoy stays until further notice. If it turns out he is of no help to us, then Hermione will erase his memories and he will be set out on his way."

"I'm not touching _anyone's _memories." Hermione spoke for the first time, with wavering strength behind her voice.

"You can do it 'Mione" Neville tried patting her back but she moved away from his touch.

"No. You of all people should understand Neville! We all know what happens when I mess with people's heads. No need to be kind and bead around the bush." She pushed out her chair causing it to screech against the ancient wooden floor. "Do what you want with Malfoy. I'm sorry I ever brought him here. But I am not, under _any_ circumstances messing with his memories." She slammed the door behind her and left the meeting in a shocked silence.

"Meetings over." Harry stood while still holding Ginny's hand. "And no one bother Hermione. That's an order." Everyone quickly began filing out of the room until it was only Harry and Moody left. "How could you even begin to think she would be ok with that?" Harry spat.

"It's been two years."

Harry let a cold, humorless laugh burst up from his lungs. "You're a great fighter Mad-Eye, but you have always had a lack for understanding people's emotions." He turned on his heel and went to go find his best friend.

* * *

Every bone in his body ached. His eyelids felt as though weights had been attached to them. The door of the infirmary opened to reveal a smirking Theo Nott.

"What the fuck do you want?" Draco snarled. He was too tired and sore to pull his face into any sort of emotion, so he settled with a glare.

"Just wanted to check in on my dear old friend." The fellow Slytherin strutted up to Draco's bed and began drawing a useless pattern with his fingertips on the bed post.

"Don't make me laugh; you left the Dark Lord right after the Final Battle. You left all of us"

"If you haven't noticed, it was far from the 'final' battle mate. I've been in twenty since then."

"You know exactly what I meant Nott."

Theo pulled his eyebrows together, "So I'm Nott now? How times change." He let out a low breath and turned his gaze back down to the invisible pattern he was drawing.

"It became Nott the moment you became a filthy traitor!" A growl escaped Draco's throat causing him to cough painfully.

Theo raised his head quickly and the pattern stopped, "I'm the traitor? How about you Malfoy? How many of your own have you killed? How many crimes against humanity have you witnessed?" He scoffed, "I thank Merlin I got out of that bloody mess. You're never safe on his side. After all isn't he the one that did this to you?" He gestured to the broken body in front of him while Draco seethed silently.

"At least I'm fighting for what I believe in!"

Theo let out a cold laugh, "We both know you don't believe in that shite anymore. You just got in too fucking far to admit it."

"Why the hell are you here? To give me a fortune cookie speech and tell me what a fuck up I am? If that's all you want, then just get the fuck out."

"I wanted to see if you came here asking for help," He rubbed the back of his neck, "I thought my best friend had finally seen the light. But I was wrong." He tousled his dark brown hair and looked on to Draco with pity. "I won't bother you again." He then turned from the bed and left the room without turning back.

It could have been hours or days until Draco was disturbed again. He wasn't sure. Mad-Eye came stumbling into the room grumbling under his breath.

"You're going to the interrogation room." He whacked the bed with his cane, "Get up!"

"I'm pretty comfy thanks."

Moody rolled both eyes and yanked Draco's arm, "Enough with the sarcasm, get out of bed and come with me!" Draco grunted with pain and ripped his arm out of the aurors grasp. He followed at a slow pace through the house, biting down on his tongue to keep from moaning in pain. After what felt like miles of hallways, they reached a door and Draco was pushed inside.

There was a single chair facing a desk in the middle of the room. On the left wall there was a couch where the Golden Trio were all sitting. Ron flipped him off, Harry became suddenly very interested in the floor, and Hermione did nothing but stare. Her big brown eyes had absolutely no emotion running through them. For kicks Draco tried to cast a wandless legilimens on her and was met by a solid wall. A corner of the witch's mouth turned up in a smirk, but she otherwise gave no sign that her mind had just been attacked.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy." The blonde had been so distracted by his former school mates that he hadn't even noticed Kingsley Shacklebolt sitting in a chair behind the desk. "We're going to be administering some Veritaserum today, if you'd like to have a seat."

* * *

The liquid felt like silk as it slid down his throat. Draco felt the effects reach out to the tips of his fingers and he bit down on his tongue in a last attempt to keep from revealing his secrets.

"Now," said Kingsley, "We're just going to be asking you a few questions." He paused as though he expected a response from the Death Eater, but only received a glare. "Our first matter of business, what is your full name and rank?"

He tasted the blood in his mouth as he bit down on his tongue with every muscle in his face. The Veritaserum shot up from his fingertips to his jaw, forcing it to open and words to tumble out. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater from the Inner Circle." Out of the corner of his stormy eyes, he caught Ron's angry stare.

"And how did you end up in the care of Miss Granger?" Kingsley was staring at the desk but his voice held strong.

"I was being punished by the Dark Lord and for some strange reason; I felt the wards go down. In a panic I apparated away. I could tell I was near death."

"And why were you being punished?"

The Slytherin managed to lock his jaw for nearly three minutes before the words stumbled out of his pursed lips. "I refused to rape a muggle."

Hermione gasped and Kingsley's eyebrows shot up his forehead.

"I presume you had no plan to be found by the Order?"

"None whatsoever." His voice was ice that set the room down a few degrees.

"Well then." Kingsley cleared his throat, "Can you tell us where the Dark Lord is hiding?"

"No." Draco spat, "He never revealed to us where his main hiding place was. The only time I saw him was for a mission or if he visited the Manor."

"And were you at the Manor when you were punished?"

"Yes."

"And you have no idea how the wards went down?"

"I already fucking said I didn't know." The blonde had officially lost the last ounce of his temper.

"Very well…Alastor, if you could escort Mr. Malfoy back to the medicine room, we're done for today. Thank you for your cooperation Malfoy."

"Not like I had much of a bloody choice." He grumbled before being grabbed at by the collar and shoved out of the interrogation room and down the hallway. He passed Theo on his way up the stairs and had to suppress the urge to stick his foot out and trip the bastard. That would be the perfect excuse for the hobbling auror behind him to 'ruff him up a bit' to use Moody's exact phrasing.

"Malfoy," Theo spoke up, "How are you doing today?"

Draco rolled his eyes. Was this wanker serious? "Oh just fucking brilliant dear Theo. It's been such a lovely stay." Moody grunted and shoved him up the last few steps and away from Theo before the turncoat could reply. He was pushed into the room with all of the hospital beds and the door was slammed and locked behind him. A Crucio from the Dark lord sounded pretty damn good right about now.

* * *

A/N: Please let me know what you think so far! I'm not sure if this is a good start or even worth continuing so I need honest opinions. Please let me know is this story sparks your interest because I'm still unsure as to whether or not I will be continuing it!


End file.
